Injury ends Israeli skier’s Olympics

The 19-year-old Belgium native suffered a leg injury during training on Tuesday.

Ski 311.
(photo credit:Courtesy)

Israeli skier Virgile Vandeput’s Olympics came to a heartbreaking ending on Friday after he was diagnosed with a syndesmotic sprain of the ankle and a partial tear of the tendon.

The 19-year-old Belgium native suffered a leg injury during training on Tuesday, but hoped to compete in the Slalom on Saturday despite missing the Giant Slalom on Wednesday.

However, Vandeput, who was supposed to be the fifth and final Israeli to take part in the Games, couldn’t race on Saturday after being ruled out of action for four weeks by the Austrian team doctor Christian Fink.

“It is with a big frustration that my Olympic games are finishing here without any chance to prove my level to everyone,” Vandeput wrote on his Facebook page. “It is very hard to be just in front of a dream and to see this dream broken in one second. I am very frustrated, disappointed, but mainly very sad.”